Tampon



Fel.V 6, y 1940. v, E. ROBINSON ZSheets-Sheet 2 TAMPON Filed Oct. 20. 1937 Paienrsd Feb. 6, 1940 PATENT oFF'lcE UNITED. STATES 4 Claims.

This invention relates to tampons of the type" that function by absorbing fluids that are to be lcontrolled, and the invention' proceeds upon the principle of producing and distributingy the ar- 5 ticle under condensed dimensions from which it,n

when put into use, is released and left free to expand in exercising its absorptive function, so that its absorptive capacity is greatly enlarged.

One .object of the invention is to greatly inl crease the expansive and absorptive capacity of the tampon, as well as the promptness with which it performs its functions in use; and to this end, the invention,` while employing cellulosic bers, avoids feltinarolling or other fabri- 15 cation of these fibers that would reduce their expansibility and absorptive qualities and, instead, insures mass integrity in the body of fibers by the use of a jacket which surrounds them Without in any way detracting from their ab- 20 sorptive qualities.

Another object of the invention .is to provide a jacket for abody of loose cellulosic fibers which will serve to confine the body of bers in its condensed form of reduced dimensions until the $5 article"v is put into use, and will then be automatically released to permit the .body to expand to full dimensions andL saturation and still retainv the mass integrity of the body; and per- 'form these functions without delaying the ab- To these ends,-

ag sorptive function of the article.

the invention further consists in applying to a body of suitable fibers a jacket of Isheet form@ gathered around the body in a manner to leave ample fullness for expansion and saturation of 55 said body, having its surface portions which intersect or contact in the process of gathering, adhered together so that the jacket remains under. tension in contracted form to hold the body of fibers in their condensed state, but having the adhesive employed for\this purpose releasable under body conditions so that the fullness will be freed in time to avoid resistance to expansion (Cl. 12B-285) threads of the gauze being the members which, in their lapping or intersection, are adhered together to provide a tensionally .resistant jacket of minor dimensions for the compression stage of the tampon and an equally lstrong or ten- 6 sionally resistant jacket of large dimensions that Will be effective during the saturation stage; the adhesive being restricted to saturation of or surface application to the constituent threads of the gauze, so that the mesh of the gauze is left 10 free of obstruction and the paper lining of the fabric jacket, which can be approximatelyV as `highly absorbent as the body of fibers themselves, will be at all times ready to instantly enter upon the function of absorption. In the accompanying drawings, which show the tampon, as well as lthe method of its production embodying the several features of the in vention, Aby way of illustration- Figure 1 is a perspective view oi the fabricre- 2o inforce memberof the jacket in its relation to a pair of rolls employed for applying adhesive to it.

Figure 2 is a perspectiveview of a sheet of paper which constitutes the inner foil or lamina 25 of the jacket. Figure 3 suggests a body or charge of fiber employed as the filling body.v

Figure 4 is a view ofa complete tampon constructed in accordance with the invention. 30

5 represents a mold employed for asffsemblin'g the filler and its jacket and which is provided with an electric heatingelement for aectin'g the adhesive in thecourseA of assembly.

Figure 6 is a plan View of- Figure 5. 35

Figure 7 is a section on theline 'Ix-'Im of Figure 5. Figure 8 is a section on the line 8:r-8a: of Figure 5.

vFigure 9 shows the device of Figure 5 with the 40 duplex jacket material extending across the top thereof and with the tensioning -ring resting upon the jacket material. i

Figure 10 suggests the first step in forming the jacket in the mold.

Figure 1 1 illustrates the step of charging the filling body into the partially formed jacket..

'Figure 12 lshows the extrusion of the jacket with its filler by means of the nishing plunger.

Figure 13 shows the assembly of the ller with 50 thecgathered jacketA and with the upper ends of the jacket turned in previous to closure of the jacket; and f 3 f Figure 14 is an enlarged vsectional view on the line IIx-,Mm of Figure i3. da

I represents a sheet of open gauze fabric which, by passing it between rolls X Y bearing an appropriate adhesive, will have itsI threads coated ing, fluting, or otherwise gathering the fullness of the sheet. This adhesive may be of a kind that is rendered iiuid by moisture and hardens by. giving up moisture, such, for instance, as

' numerous gums well known to serve this purpose, f or it may have the quality of hardening at atmospheric temperatures and becoming adhesive under the application of heat or body temperature. 2 represents a sheet of highly absorbent paper, the principal qualification of which is its dapacity to confine bers. 3 i-s indicative of a body of cellulosic fibers which may be of any desired form but is preferably in the form of a plinth, cylinder or the like. 4 represents a completed tampon which `is made by introducing the body of fibers 3 into a jacket formed of the gauze I and paper 2, as by placing the body of fibers centrally upon the assembled-sheets I, 2, gathering the sheets around the body of fiber b y tensioning the sheets from one end to the other of the body gathering the fullness of the gauze and sheet and thereby reducing the circumferential dimension of the jacket, and then securing the gathered end beyond the body, as shown at 5 in Figure 4, and applying a string 6 for convenient manipulation.

-The' tampon 4 has the inherent qualities of oiering substantially no obstruction to absorption through the gauze I and paper 2 land into the fibrous body 3, when the nished article is' When the vthrough the highly absorbent paper to the ber filler, so that the process of absorption and saturation will immediately ensue; and this moisture, or its temperature over .and above atmosphere according to the nature of adhesive used, will promptly release the adhesion between the lapped or otherwise intersecting fibers so .that resistance' to expansion will be removed and the tampon may freely enlarge and promote absorption to the highest capacity.

While the present invention in its broader aspect, is not limited to any particular method of making the tampon 4 or any method of applying the-jacket -with suiicient fullness to avoid restricting the expansion of the fibers, and while it is preferred that the assembly of the constituent elements I, 2 and 3 into the article- '4 be accomplished by applying the ller centrally upon the jacket material and then gathering the surrounding portions of the jacket'in drawing them from one end toward the other as described, I

have provided convenient means for assembling` these parts as illustrated in Figures 5 tov 12, inclusive. vThus-- 8 represents a table or flange from which depends a throat 9 uted 'or otherwise provided 3 is condensed, and the assembled article is ex- -with special advantage to retention by adhesive -phane to maintain condensed 'form that must with members that assist in gathering the jacket materiall when the said material is thrust into the barrel I0, so that the fullness of the jacketv material will be uniformly gathered throughout a cylindrical form of lesser diameter and where, `5A

by means of an electric heater II, adhesive applied at some proper stage to the gauze I will either be dried into holding condition or meltedV so as to develop adhesive condition from which it can harden when the article is extruded from 1 the portion IIl.

As shown in Figure 9, an annular tensioning weight I2 is preferably employed to hold the jacket materials I and 2 upon the table 8, and while these materials are so held, a molding plunger I3 (Figure 10) is thrust into the center of the jacket until the latter is depressedas shown in Figure 10 and properly gathered yinto form desired, whereupon the forming plunger I3 i-s removed, the block of material 3 is pressed into 2 the space of said plunger and an extruding plunger I4 is employed to thrust the work downward into tube I0; with the result that the gathering of the jacket is completed, the filling body truded, as shown in Figure 12; whereupon its upper open end may be'rawn i'nto closed relation and secured in the condition shown in Figure 4, the jacketing material, however, being first pref-'- erably turned inward as shown at I5 in Figure 13. 3

In passing through the gathering and forming tube 9, I0, the fullness of the two-ply jacketing material will bel folded or pleated as vshown generally at' I6 in Figure 14 and lroned down into substantially smooth form without influencing the body of the filler materially otherwise than condensing it, and the 'plaits or folds I6, or such other folds as might be formed and attened `in the circumference of the article, lend themselves so that a jacket without material resistance to absorption is' produced upon the article in automatically releasable, circumferentially ten-sioned form that will retain dimensions of condensation untilthe article is put into use, and, without other attention, the article will enter upon its functions of release from condensation, expansion, absorptionl and saturation with a capacity greatly exceeding that obtainable with previously known tampons, and with much more promptly 5 assumed expansion and saturation than is obtainable with tampons of the type which are enclosed in a soluble capsule; or which, for th'e sake of maintaining mass integrity, are required to convert the felted, laid or otherwise fabricated surface ofa cotton or other filling flber'into tension-resisting form; or which require the ber body to be rolled from a felted` mass and relyA upon creasing and an external jacket of Cellobe released by picking to pieces the Cellophane preliminary to puttinglinto use. From the foregoing, it will `be* seen that the present invention contemplates a filling of cellu# losic fibers, collected into a body without rolling c or fabrication in volume and condition which normally assumes, especially under saturation, dimensions materially greater than thoseA in which the article is to be distributed; an enveloping jacket in the form of-'a paper-like septum 7 capable of confining the bers of this flllerwithout materially obstructing transmission of liquid by the process of absorption, and applied to said body with a fullness that leaves the filler free to expand under saturation; and a reinforcing jack- Ilv l leaves the filler free to expand; the septum and` et surrounding the septum and in the form of an open-mesh fabric also having a -fullness that reinforce being in sheet form and assembled with the filler body by placing the lfiller body upon them, preferably as a two-ply jacketing sheet, and drawing the sheet and gathering the fullness thereof along the sides of the body to the other end thereof, where the jacket is drawn together and closed by a string or a suitable tying means; and this assembly is suitably condensed through the filler and the composite jacket to a form having dimensions that render the article convenient for carrying and manipulation, and secured in this condensed form temporarilyand releasably by adhering together plaited,v overlapping, or otherwise rcontacting portions of the jacket, and more especially the reinforcing ply thereof, through means of an adhesive that leaves the reinforcing ply under tension at the reduced dimensions of the article but which, by reaction of body conditions, temperature'or moisture or both, will automatically release the tension and permit expansion in response to saturation when the article is put into use.

From the foregoing speciflcation it will be seen that the present invention relates to that type of sanitary tampon comprising a body of unfabricated absorbent fibers confined by a porous fabric jacket separate from and independent of said body; which 4said body automatically changes from one to the other of two different degrees of density, to wit, an initial density incident to gauze jacket that is'separate from and independent of the body of fibers; as distinguished from l the use of a soluble shell or the like, for retaining the initial density or sub-normal dimension of the body and a gauze fabric for holding the body at its major dimension or lesser densityassumed by the body after` the shell is dissolved. In the present invention, in the-initial stage of density of the fibers, or sub-normal dimension of the body, there is a fullness of the jacket but this fullness is taken up by pleats or folds to make 'the jacket correspond in circumferential dimension to the sub-normal circumferential dimension of the body, which said pleats or folds have their overlapping surfaces so adhered together that the jacket, then constitutes an external source of compression that maintains the said sub-normal dimension; andthe adhesive is such, that it will dissolve and release the pleats by conditions encountered in use, and thereby permitexpansion of the body to its second stage of density, when the same jacket in distended form will continue to maintain integrity of the body.

It will further be seen that the invention contemplates having the jacket which serves initially asthe external source of compression and subsequently envelopes the body in expanded form,-

produced from a single'piece of porous seamless sheet materialengaged'at its intermediate portion with one end of the body of fibers; extending thence in pleats longitudinally of the' said body to the other end thereof and having its free edges at said other end secured by agathering means; the structural conditions being such as to leave the sides of the body and its pleated enveloping jacket unconnected -by the gathering means and free to open out when its folds are released, which circumstance not only leaves the jacket free to function as intended, butf'peculiarly adapts it for production by'presenting' the body of fiber endwise to the intermediate portion of the single .fiat sheet of gauze fabric; then forcing the two' elements, so assembled, endwise of the fiber body through 4an appropriate funnel, thereby condensing the body to its sub-normal dimensions and gathering the fullness of the gauze sheet in the form of pleats around the sides thereof and finally causing the overlapping folds of the pleats to be adhered together by an adhesive applied to the gauaev previous to assembly and thus adapting the pleated and adhered-gauze, to constitute an external source of compression-.that'retains the bodyat its sub-normal dimensionuntil the pleats are automatically released in use.

vIii claim:

- l.` A sanitary tampon comprising a body ofr fibers; said body having Athe capacity to expand under absorption of fluid but being initially under transverse condensation that leaves it with a. materially reduced circumferentialv dimension; a tubular jacket consisting of highly porous fabric separate from and independent of' the body; said jacket surrounding said body. and confining the fibers thereof and having a normal circumferential dimension substantially equal to that of the body when expanded as aforesaid, butgathered circumferentially into folds that are independent of the body and overlie the external circumferential surface thereof and leave the tubular jacket with a reduced circumferential dimension; and an adhesive soluble under conditions encountered by the tampon in use adhering together the lappedI portions of the folds and holding the tubular wall at its reduced circumferential dimension under tension and in expansion-resisting embrace upon the condensed body until released'.

2.4 A vcomposite tampon comprising a highly absorbent body of loose fibers having a substantial capacity for reduction in bulk underk compression and re-expansion in bulk when released: and a bulk controlling jacket comprising a separate piece of mesh fabric surrounding said body, gathered into folds thereon and by said folds reduced in circumferential dimension to substantially that of the body when compressed; the/said vfolds having their lapped faces releasably adhered j together and holding the jacket under tension with a circumferential dimension corresponding to that of the-body undercompression, and holding the body under such compression until the folds are released by conditions encountered by the tampon in use, said confining jacket includes in its construction not only the independent mesh fabric, but an insoluble sheet 0f highly absorbent flber confining paper between the mesh fabric and the body of fibers, which said paper is gathered with the mesh fabric but leaves the surfaces of the mesh fabric outermost and in margin of said fabric near the other end ,of the in which intermediate portions of the mesh fabric and the fiber-confining paper are superposed one upon the'other and engaged with one end ofthe body; the folds of the mesh fabric and the paper gathered therewith extend along the sides of the body and present the margin of the jacket near theA other end ofthe body; and the jacket has a gathering means securing its said margin at said other end of the body; the portions of the folds between the ends of the body being left unsecuredv by said gathering means and free to unfold when released from their adherence.

VERA E. ROBINSON. 

